The Leipzig artist Benedikt Leonhardt (*1984) is the 12th laureate of the art prize awarded by the Leipziger Volkszeitung. Imagery circulating through the digitalized society is source material for Leonhardt’s creative process. In a first impulse, he captures ephemeral impressions and blurred backgrounds, which he further develops and elaborates through colorization techniques of application, removal and repainting. The result are monochrome and multi-layered canvasses that have a magnetizing viewing effect.
Benedikt Leonhardt pursued his art education at Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig as a student of Astrid Klein, and at Bergen Academy of Art and Design through his Erasmus grant. In 2016 he completed his studies as master student of Astrid Klein. Today, Leohardt both lives and works in Leipzig.
The Leipziger Volkszeitung set up their art prize in the year of 1994 as celebration of their hundred-year anniversary. Since the subsequent year the Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig (MdbK) has been involved in the awarding of the prize every two years – for the twelfth time in 2017. Next to a monetary award, the prize promises an exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig, as well as an exhibition catalogue. Nominees are young artists from the Leipzig region. Past nominees are: Via Lewandowsky (1995), Neo Rauch (1997), Jörg Herold (1999), Tamara Grcic (2001), Daniel Roth (2003), Matthias Weischer (2005), Claudia Angelmaier (2007), Julius Popp (2009), Jochen Plogsties (2011), Sebastian Nebe (2013) and Owen Gump (2015).
http://www.lvz-kunstpreis.de/
